Girls as young as 12 lift the lid on the terrifying world of gangs where initiations include drugs, rape and robberies
New documentary looks at girls who are members of gangs, including one who was locked up aged 13 for orchestrating the rape and kidnap of her friend
A 12-year-old girl kidnapped her friend and forced her to be raped in order to belong to a gang.
The shocking admission is just one of several terrifying stories told by past and present female gang members in new BBC documentary Gang Girls.
The show lifts the lid on gangs roaming the streets of south London, where thousands of young girls are embroiled in a life of drugs, exploitation and violence.
Up to 6,000 young women in the UK are embroiled in gang life, with actual numbers predicted to be in the tens of thousands.
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Presenter Livvy Haydock entered a gang safe house where she met women who confessed to committing horrifying crimes in order to belong.
One youngster, dubbed Cally, told of how she fell for a local gang member aged just 12. He recruited her and gave her a list of tasks to complete in order to become part of the group, including selling drugs, robberies, fighting and kidnapping people.
Age 13 she kidnapped her friend and forced her to be raped and carry out sex acts for money, which landed her in jail for nearly four years.
Another girl, Becky, was described as one of the most prolific gang members in the area and has been caught up in gang life for more than a decade.
She told shocked Livvy her daily life includes selling drugs and violence - and she used to carry a huge knife in the waistband of her jeans over fears of attacks after 12 of her friends were killed in just six months.
She told Livvy: "Yeah it’s mainly sexual things, every girl wants to be in with somebody so they are willing to do certain things.
"It’s normal, even when you know it’s wrong, when you’re living it, it’s normal."
Livvy also met people trying to get girls off the streets, including Sasha, who used to be part of a gang but broke free from it and now runs a safe house in the local community centre and staff at King's College Hospital who have a unique project to help gang members.
Gang Girls is available to watch on now.
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